A Tribute
by xStormyx
Summary: From his very first trial, Phoenix has won almost every trial, ensuring justice and finding the real criminal... while defeating some of the best prosecutors of his time. What's his secret? One-shot


**No success in taking over Capcom so still do not own anything. Poo-ey.**

There comes a moment in every man and woman's life in which the past is observed and analysed. Past actions, old friends, enemies… all these things come to the mind. Some smile with contentment and some cry with regret. For Phoenix Wright, this moment had come. It was not a particularly special night. He wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary. He had simply glanced at his reflection in a cup of tea and found that moment in which the nature of his personality came into question. And he pondered.

He was a strong man – there was no doubt about that. He had survived more than most people hadn't he? He had lived surrounded by murder and intrigue and with the constant worry that something would happen to someone he cared about (translation: he had to keep an eye on Maya at all times). He had strength – he never wavered and he never gave up no matter the consequence of his persistence. He didn't care about anybody's opinion, he didn't care about the trouble his questions resulted in, whether legal or personal, and he'd never cared how long it took. All he cared about was justice. He may not have always achieved it in the most eloquent manner but achieve it he did. And that was the legend of Phoenix Wright and honestly who could be more satisfied than he? To leave behind a legacy of truth was more than he had ever hoped for. He had stepped into the darkened world of the law bringing with him a light that slowly spread and reached out to the forgotten chasms of that world. But there was something Phoenix had never forgotten – something that prevented his fame and the power that came with it get to his head.

He had once read there was a great significance to the triangle – a spiritual significance. The text had claimed that the three sides signified the tri-natured aspect of God – the Creator, the Preserver and the Transformer. He wasn't a spiritual man and neither was he a disbeliever. Phoenix believed that he was not knowledgeable enough to decide upon the existence or non-existence of God. What he _did _know was that the triangle was significant to him – it signified three people that had transformed his life and they were connected by the name of Fey.

Mia Fey, with her passion and never-ending trust, had awakened in him the inspiration to become the kind of man he had never even considered becoming. Before her he'd been the type to… he struggled to find a comparison strong enough to convey his personality. Then it came to him – he'd been the type to befriend Larry Butz... and survive decades with him. It was only after his time with Mia that he saw the uselessness that saturated his every pore. Really, that Phoenix hadn't noticed this trait in Larry before was enough of an indicator of his ignorance. He usually comforted himself with the thought that he was blinded by loyalty for the guy. In any case, Mia had changed him. She had trusted him through his own trial, had shown him patience through his training and had had enough faith in him to defend Larry despite (he was sure) her doubts about his abilities. Maya's little slip about Mia's view while she was in detention had not hurt him – it had only proven to him the extent of her confidence in him. And that had meant the world to him.

Of course, her death had devastated him and it was Maya's trial and Maya's presence that had forced him to continue in the same manner. Ever since his trial, he had never allowed his feelings to rise to the surface where anybody could pick at them – he'd learnt long ago to control those somewhat. However, he was sure had it not been for Maya, his life would have fallen into disarray. It was her incarceration and subsequent trial that had given him the strength to continue Mia's work. Aside from the fact that they were sisters, Maya presented an environment that had helped mould his resolve. She had smiled in the hardest of times, keeping herself together and her nameless loyalty had taught him what he should have already known. If a girl of her age could overcome the grief of her sister's death why couldn't he, her protégé, continue her legacy? So he had. And Maya had remained by his side throughout some of the strangest cases, even the ones she was unsure of. She had chosen to trust in his instincts and supported him every step of the way. She always found the light in the dark to remind him there was always hope and to give up would be… well, disgraceful. Although Maya had been far to sweet and kind to ever put it so bluntly and harshly. In fact, she wasn't too eloquent about it either. The stacks and stacks of Steel Samurai DVDs were proof of that. Phoenix knew the reason she watched these shows and it wasn't because she was immature – the things she'd suffered in life attested to that. Phoenix had seen her relish when the 'forces of good' (he cringed; he was too much of a cynic now) won over evil. Yes, Maya had always been there to remind him of the silver lining.

And then came the youngest of the Feys. The thought of Pearls always made Phoenix smile. She was the epitome of innocence, like a physical representation of the unjustly condemned of the world who needed someone to stand up for them and protect them and defend them. Her wide eyes and sweet little smile never failed to warm his heart. Her consistent faith in him as well as loyalty and love for Maya had endeared her to him permanently and he took it upon himself to look out for her as well. The way that she always smacked him when she believed he had wronged 'Mystic Maya' in some way, the manner in which she continued to pair them up… Phoenix had never felt anything less than family when she was around despite being called Mr Nick all the time. He knew it wasn't because she didn't see him as her own – it was just the way she was brought up. Her goodness and her belief in his goodness was all the incentive he ever needed to make it through each and every trial with the honesty that Mia had already enforced in him. Yes, what Mia had started, Pearl completed.

The Fey triad had sheltered him, bathing him in its light and making him the strongest man he could be. It was because of their unity and faith in him that he had grown and matured and learnt what he had. And when his badge was taken away, when he had lost his purpose, it was Maya and Pearls and their belief in his innocence that had prevented a complete breakdown. It had been their support, albeit from the reclusive village of Kurain, that had given him the strength to keep his head high, to continue to show his face in public. That… and a little girl who reminded him very much of them. Trucy's first step into his life had been like a drop of moonlight in a darkened abyss. Her smiles and hugs and acceptance of him were hard to bear at first. After all, he had been unable to prove her father innocent and, as a result, she had ended up with him, without a mother and father. That she didn't hate him or resent him confused him for a while – and it was then that he saw the unbelievable resemblance between her and the Fey women. She, too, was loyal and innocent and _pure_. She was the final straw, the hand in the dark that had pulled him out from under the protection of the Feys and helped him to become a man who stood on his own two feet, who relied on his instincts and morals and principles that sprung from his own confidence. Yes, this transformation had not been the most graceful nor had it been the least painful but he had changed nevertheless. He had managed to pull through the hardest time of his life. And it had all been because of the love and strength and belief of the women in his life.

No, Phoenix didn't know much of spiritual matters but he knew this much – Mia had created Phoenix Wright, the attorney, Maya and Pearls had helped him persevere through it all and Trucy… Well, Trucy had transformed him, infused a wisdom and maturity in him that he didn't know he could have found otherwise. All of them had treated him like family, never had he felt like anything less in their presence and therefore he had never really experienced loneliness. These women had changed his life.

They say that behind every great man, there's a woman. But behind him stood four. How could he, Phoenix Wright, then, fail? The simplicity of the answer brought a smile to his lips;

He didn't.


End file.
